Phone call by fire officials initiates first fire sprinkler installation in local Habitat for Humanity home

All it took for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando to fire sprinkler its first home was a phone call by Floridian fire service members. "It all started with a phone call about a concept to put fire sprinklers into Habitat for Humanity homes," says Chief Otto Drozd III with Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) in a new video appearing on the Orange County Government's website.

While safeguarding the new homeowners from the threats of fire, the installation was also an effective, public education tactic; while at the scene of the installation, members of OCFR underscored the necessity of fire sprinklers to audiences likely unfamiliar with this technology. "The particular fire sprinkler system for this home was designed specifically to give residents more time to escape a fire by better controlling it,” said Orange County Fire Marshal Bruce Faust, an active member of the Florida Fire Sprinkler Coalition. “The system acts as a second line of defense after the smoke alarm to provide added security and safety.”

Faust adds that the installation isn't intended to be a one-off; OCFR's aim is to work with Habitat to fire sprinkler all of the organization's new homes going forward. “If we can do this, we will have a positive impact and reduce fire deaths in the community," says Faust. "It’s really a simple narrative: Sprinklers mean survival.”

This isn't the first time the Florida Fire Sprinkler Coalition has used unconventional tactics to promote home fire sprinklers; the group recently launched a public education campaign on this technology, tasking advocates to take a #sprinklerselfie and share it on social media.